United Russia top official urges Yekaterinburg opposition to respect mayor's election

Sergei Neverov has urged political rivals in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg not to challenge the inauguration ceremony of Yevgeny Roizman

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MOSCOW, October 2 (Itar-Tass) - Secretary of the United Russia General Council Sergei Neverov has urged political rivals in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg not to challenge the inauguration ceremony of Yevgeny Roizman, elected to the office of mayor and representing the Civic Platform party. "Yevgeny Roizman has won the support of Yekaterinburg residents. One must respect their choice," Neverov told journalists on Wednesday.

Neverov has criticised rival attempts to create obstacles to the activities of the city parliament. "I was surprised to see the opposition attempting to repeal the results of the election by way of filing complaints with the prosecutor's office. I can imagine what methods and levers of pressure they might have used if they had come into power," Neverov said.

“United Russia has absolutely recognised Roizman's victory in the election, which was the choice of the people whose opinion deserves respect, " Neverov said. "The elected mayor should begin work as soon as possible because winter is looming and he should attend to economic problems rather than political squabbles."

Yekaterinburg Leninsky district court on Wednesday opened hearings into a lawsuit filed by opposition deputies in the city Duma assembly. These included representatives of the A Just Russia party and the Russian Party of Pensioners for Justice, who demanded that a meeting of the city Duma on September 24, endorsing Roizman in the post of city mayor, be deemed illegitimate.

Opposition deputies claimed the election was rigged and boycotted the meeting of the Duma, which endorsed Roizman as mayor.

Following the September 8 election, United Russia has 21 seats in the city Duma. A Just Russia won seven seats, Civic Platform has three, the Communist Party and the Party of Pensioners have two seats each and one seat was given to the LDPR party.